Career development programmes attract top talents
ROZANA SANI rsani@nst.com.my
and opportunities for career growth are seen as a key pull factor for fresh graduates and other categories of jobseekers when selecting companies for employment, just as important as — if not more than — salary as well as benefits and incentives.
This was among the findings of the JobStreet.com Top 10 Companies 2017 survey which involved 10,241 Malaysians across all position levels. The aim of the survey was to determine the companies which the majority of professionals think are great to join, and the reasons for joining them.
Topping the list is Google Malaysia, moving from third place last year. Petronas and Shell Malaysia come in second and third respectively, securing their strong presence in the top three positionsfor two consecutive years. Sime Darby maintains its fourth place and Air Asia nabs the fifth place this year. Completing the Top 10 list in order of ranking are Maybank, Nestle Malaysia, Intel Malaysia, Tenaga Nasional and Eco World Development Group. Eco World made its debut in the 2017 list.
In addition, six out of the top 10 companies that Malaysians aspire to work for turned out to be Malaysian companies, showcasing local 1 Google Malaysia 2 Petronas
3 Shell Malaysia 4 Sime Darby
5 Air Asia
6 Maybank
7 Nestle Malaysia 8 Intel Malaysia 9 Tenaga Nasional 10 Eco World Development Group companies’ abilities to compete alongside foreign multinational corporations in attracting and retaining talents, as well as meeting talents’ career aspirations.
Other than working environment, company reputation is also a reason a firm attracts top talents.
SEEK Asia chief commercial officer Martin Hayden said: “With the dynamics of the job market becoming more complex and challenging, it is important for companies to understand trends and strategically communicate their Employee Value Proposition to compete for top talents. To fulfil such industry needs, the Top 10 Companies report provides valuable insights that highlight local and regional shifts in job market trends such as candidate preferences and expectations in their careers. At the end of the day, those companies that recognise the pull-factors and address these needs will naturally appeal and retain talents.” JobStreet.com and jobsDB are part of SEEK Asia, an online employment market place in Asia. SEEK Asia covers seven countries namely Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
JobStreet.com Malaysia and Singapore country manager Chook Yuh Yng said: “In this 1 Petronas
2 Shell Malaysia 3 Google Malaysia 4 Sime Darby 5 Maybank
6 Air Asia
7 Nestle Malaysia 8 Intel Malaysia 9 Tenaga Nasional 10 Public Bank new economy, it is no longer sufficient to attract talents through financial benefits or incentives. Today, companies need to compete for talents through strategic and unique approaches that differentiate themselves from competitors. As reflected in our Top 10 Companies 2017 survey, the area of employee development presents a great opportunity both for hirers and talent.”
Elaborating on career development opportunities, Chook said employees want to progress in their career and in the roles and duties they take on. “They want to move up the career ladder and to work in other areas than where they are currently at. So these are the trends that we see in the current workforce now. This means companies need to have a plan to provide all these programmes for their talents if they would like to retain them.”
Although fresh graduates represent only 10 per cent of those surveyed, the demand for career development opportunities is also expressed.
“We at Jobstreet try to provide information that will create expectations that are close to reality. While employment continues to be an issue, I believe the government, higher education institutions as well as the fresh graduates themselves can all play a part. To move forward, university and industry must work together to provide projects and internships opportunities for undergraduates which will prepare them for the real world. Universities too can infuse employability elements into their programmes which will improve the marketability and ability of fresh graduates to function in the workforce.”